N@N

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Feb. 16, 2011) -

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES

GrowMax Agri Corp. and its subsidiary, Americas Potash Peru S.A., (collectively, "GrowMax") is pleased to announce that it has begun an exploratory drilling program for phosphates, separate and distinct from GrowMax's existing potash brine project. The phosphates drilling program will occur in the southern-most block of GrowMax's Bayovar concession whereas GrowMax's potash brine project is located in the northern portion of the Bayovar concession.

GrowMax's southern-most block is 16,837 acres or 68 square kilometers in size and is located a few kilometers to the north-east of the open-pit surface phosphate mine which was put into production in July 2010 by Brazilian miner Vale SA.

The drilling program is expected to involve 20 boreholes, each ranging in depth from 60 meters to 120 meters for a total drilling depth of approximately 2,000 meters. The program, which is intended to assess the extent, depth and thickness of the phosphate deposit in the southern block of the Bayovar concession, is expected to be completed by May 2011.

Barclay Hambrook, President of GrowMax said: "The proximity of GrowMax's southern block to Vale's existing phosphate mine is of interest to us. This drilling is the first step to determine the extent to which phosphate deposits may extend into our concession."

About GrowMax Agri Corp.

GrowMax Agri Corp., a subsidiary of Americas Petrogas Inc., is developing a surface potash (KCl or Muriate of Potash) brine reservoir and evaporite deposit at Bayovar in the Sechura Desert of Northwest Peru. Additional mineral potential includes phosphate, bromine and other minerals. The Bayovar area has gained recent attention through Vale SA's recent start-up of a 4 million tonne per year phosphate surface mine located just south of GrowMax's 202,000 acre concession. Management, along with its investor IFFCO, intends to build GrowMax into a potash and specialty fertilizers company. For more information about GrowMax Agri Corp., please visit [ www.growmaxagricorp.com ]

About Americas Petrogas Inc.

Americas Petrogas Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BOE) is a Canadian company whose shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "BOE". Americas Petrogas has oil and gas interests in 16 blocks involving exploration, development and production. Americas Petrogas has proven conventional oil and gas reserves, as well as evolving unconventional resource plays including shale gas, shale oil, and tight sand oil and gas in Argentina's prolific Neuquen basin. For more information about Americas Petrogas, please visit [ www.americaspetrogas.com ]

Certain statements in this Press Release constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements, such as the number of expected boreholes and the expected depth of those boreholes, the expected completion date, the oil and gas reserves, the development of a surface potash (and other minerals) brine reservoir and evaporite deposit, drilling for phosphates and the building of a potash and specialty fertilizers company, involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In particular, there is no assurance that 20 boreholes will be drilled and if drilled, to what depth they will be drilled, that the date of completion will be in May 2011, if ever, that new oil wells will be drilled, that a potash (and other minerals) brine reservoir and evaporite deposit will be developed, and that a potash and specialty fertilizers business will be built. This forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, levels and timing of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such information.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE RELEASE.